Olga Nikolayevna Rubtsova

In 1936 Rubtsova graduated as an engineer from Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School (now Bauman Moscow State Technical University). By then she had already established herself as a premiere chess player by winning the first U.S.S.R. Women’s Championship in 1927. She also won that championship in 1931, 1937, and 1949. (During the Soviet era, chess was supported by the state for propaganda purposes, so many of the best players held positions that left them substantial time for study and play.)